The pictures are going to be a little out of order, but I figure folks won't mind over much. The first one is of Cindy, Katie and me on the Zoo's train. Katie likes riding things like that. The one of Katie sitting on a bench is also at the zoo, specifically at the Sea Lion show. Next is Katie and Livi playing while waiting for the Sea Lion show to start. The one of Katie's bum is really Katie trying to wear some of Cindy's shoes. It is just adorable how she wants to wear Mama's or Aunt Tinny's shoes.

The next few pictures are of Grant's Farm. Jeana and Livi and Cindy, Katie, and I went there the weekend of the CHI picnic. Unfortunately, Kelly and Grace had to leave on Sunday morning, so they didn't get to go with us. Here is Katie petting one of the Clydesdales. Such magnificient creatures!


Here we are at the zoo again! Katie and Livi both enjoyed the Carousel, but I think Cindy enjoyed getting the kiss more than the girls enjoyed the ride. Next is Livi going down the slide in the Children's zoo, with Jeana there to 'catch' her. The 'spider web net' is also at the Children's zoo.

Back at Grant's Farm, we all fed the goats. It was great fun for the most part, but those goats were so hungry (ok, aggressive) that they even tried to eat Katie's ear. Katie did not care for that, and I needed to promptly pick her up! Katie couldn't get away from the goats fast enough after that!

It was an incredibly hot and humid day, so we did enjoy the offerings at Grant's Farm. Ok, not Cindy, since she was driving, and not the girls because they are underage.

Next are some pictures from the CHI reunion picnic. The first is of all three of the girls, Grace, Livi, and Katie having fun with some of the entertainment. Next is a picture of Marty, Katie, and me. Marti is the social worker that worked with me to bring Katie home. Thank you, Marti!!!

Here are a couple more pictures from Grant's Farm. Again, Katie loved the ride on the tram!!

Here is Grace, all dolled up for our tea party. And below is Livi all dolled up.


Above is all of us at the CHI reunion picnic.

Here are the girls having fun at the CHI picnic, having fun playing in the pool of peanuts!

Here is when all of us at the airport, when everyone arrived. Below is our first night dinner at the Russian Bistro, Astoria.

Here is more of the tea party.

And this is Katie all dolled up for the tea party.

I now think that things are pretty much updated for the summer.

Christy

These pictures are from the Fourth of July. This was a special day for me: my baby is celebrating her first Fourth of July as an American! Thus, we had to do the traditional things: Baseball, hotdogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet. That is, while we were at Aunt Jeanne and Uncle Bob's, we watched the Cardinal baseball game. Albert Pujols is batting in the picture and Kelsey has Katie in the chair. We went to the local parade, and got to see several different Corvettes, including a Stingray. We had hotdogs for lunch, and as desert, we had apple pie! The evening was topped off with fireworks!! Yes, Katie was very tired for that, but she did enjoy them, once she realized that the noise meant that pretty lights were coming.

On Father's Day, I went to Children's Hope International as an adoptive family. Katie had a lot of fun playing in toy room while we waited. After that, we headed down to my Dad's to celebrate the day. That's Dad with Katie on his lap.


Here is Grandma Trish with Katie.

Above is Katie, after enjoying one of her favorite meal time options: creamed spinach. Yes, Katie feeds herself, much to my amazement and sometimes horror. (Have you ever tried to get creamed spinach out of hair????) This other picture is of Katie looking through one of the scrapbooks. She loves looking at pictures, and can just sit and turn the pages of all of the scrapbooks over and over. (Cindy and I figured that she would like the scrapbooks after seeing her reaction to the soft-sided baby picture book that we had left with her in Tver, Russia, on our first visit.)

The first two pictures are of Katie's first swimming experience, on Memorial Day. I had no idea that she would turn into such a waterbaby! She absolutely loves the water. Next is Katie playing with her blocks from Uncle Mike. She loves to stack; ok, knock over the blocks, and she loves to push the little cart box around the house. The other is of Mimi and Katie, just kicking back and enjoying being together.

Time to play catch up on the summer! These pictures are from Katie's first Cardinals Baseball Game. The first is in her stroller as we were heading to the game. The one with Katie walking is of her and her beloved Minifred. We got Katie a regular sized Fredbird, but she fell in love with Minifred! She carried Minifred, and occasionally swung him, all around the stadium, and never dropped him. Then there is a picture of Mimi (my mother), me (holding Katie), Katie, and Aunt Tinny (aka Cindy). The last of the Cardinal pictures is one of Katie just having fun at the ballpark!